New Delhi: Unable to find a suitable nominee to take over as the next Air India Chairman and Managing Director, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to choose an "appropriate course" of action as regards finalising a selection.
PESB had last month held interviews for the post of Air India CMD.
"However, the board did not find any suitable candidate and has recommended to the ministry to choose an appropriate course of further action for selection," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
He said that the ministry has sought exemption from the Department of Public Sector Enterprises from the rule of immediate absorption to fill up the post of Air India CMD by a search-cum-selection committee of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
PSEB, which conducted interviews for selecting a new CMD for the state-run airline early last month, did not find any candidate suitable for the top job and recommended that the government choose an appropriate course of action for selection.
The Board had shortlisted seven candidates, including a senior Andhra Pradesh-cadre IAS officer and a director on the Air India board, and had called them for an interview.
However, only three of the seven shortlisted candidates appeared for the interview before the selection panel.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry had sought a two- year extension for the current AI CMD, Rohit Nandan, who is a 1982-batch UP-cadre IAS officer. He had joined Air India in August, 2011.
The government has allowed Nandan to continue in the post only till August this year.
